Sharks in Long Island waters the ‘new norm’ after uptick in bites last summer

These days, summer in New York means fun in the sun — and blood in the water.

There were 13 reports of shark bites recorded on Long Island in just the past two years, a disturbing trend experts say is here to stay even with New Yorker’s 1 in 4 million chance of getting nibbled on by a sea predator.

“It’s a new norm that people are familiar with now — shark interaction occurring on the beaches here on Long Island specifically,” Frank Quevedo, an environmental scientist and executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum, told The Post.

So far this summer, no shark encounters have been reported — though Quevedo warned: “There will be.”

Here’s a look at what to know before diving into the shark’s den:

Last July, five swimmers were bitten in the waters off South Shore beaches within a single week, a worrisome pace that was on par to shatter the record eight attacks set the year prior.

The gory streak marked a significant uptick in shark encounters in New York waters, which totaled just 24 reported unprovoked attacks since 1937 , according to International Shark Attack File data.

Nearly one-quarter of those incidents occurred in the past 15 years.

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In every instance, however, the purported victims walked away with their ghastly injuries — including a 65-year-old grandmother who lost 20 pounds of flesh when she was chomped at Rockaway Beach last summer — which experts say should serve as proof that the apex predators were not looking to make a meal of the people they sunk their teeth into.

That’s why experts like Quevedo, who runs SOFO’s shark education program, purposefully refrain from calling the baker’s dozens of Long Island shark bites in 2022 and 2023 “attacks,” instead calling them encounters.

The term “attacks” is reserved for instances when the apex predators set their sights on man as a food source, which is extremely rare, but not unheard of.

There are a plethora of factors that have contributed to the rise in shark-related incidents over the last few years, but the most significant is the boom in Atlantic menhaden populations, Quevedo said. More commonly known as bunker fish, the herring is a favorite snack among sharks, whales, dolphins and other marine predators.

Bunker fish have flourished since New York lawmakers in 2019 outlawed capturing the fish using a drawstring-bag-like fishing net , a move the state made to restore the species after significant overfishing nearly destroyed the population in 2011.

Sharks chase the fish into shallow waters to trap their prey, which notoriously swims in giant crowds called “bait balls,” which is when accidental encounters with humans become a bigger risk.

According to Hans Walters, the Curator of Animals at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, most Long Island shark victims swam into the “crossfire” of a man versus bunker fish chow down.

“I’ve watched these animals feed, and I think they’re direct — they know what they want. They swim into a school of menhaden with their mouths open, thrash their head back and forth, somebody swims past and gets tagged and, you know, the shark misses a meal, loses a few teeth, the person goes to the hospital. So nobody wins, everybody loses. And it’s a tragedy,” Walters, who closely works at the aquarium’s “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” exhibit.

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“It’s not like every time you go into the water, there’s something waiting to take a chunk out of you.”

A common misconception, he continued, is that sharks mistake human limbs for fish.

Warmer temperatures also are driving sharks closer to shore, which could explain why the rash of shark attacks last year occurred during a metro heat wave.

That rise in temperatures also means more humans are getting the water, which in itself increases the chance of encountering a big fish that is already swimming through the waves.

“Anyone who has gone into the ocean has swum with sharks. They just may not know it, but they have,” Walters said.

“He’s there. That’s where he lives.”

The types of sharks that frequent New York waters are typically nonaggressive species that are only hunting after smaller fish. Atlantic Menhaden, for example, grows to be roughly 15 inches in length.

While white sharks, hammerheads and thresher sharks are more commonly known, smooth dogfish sharks are the most popular sharks in the New York/New Jersey Bight Apex — the waters from Fire Island to the Manasquan Inlet in New Jersey. That alone could do wonders to quell concerned swimmer’s fears: the five-foot-long fish has blunt teeth that can’t break the skin.

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There’s also a nursery of baby whites and sand tiger sharks in the Great South Bay, though a nip from a pup would not likely cause any significant damage — and one might not even register it as a shark bite.

The big and bad sharks are off chasing seals in colder waters by the time New York summer rolls around, meaning Cape Cod vacationers have much more to worry about than those romping in Rockaway.

While it sounds easier said than done, shark experts maintain that the best way to avoid falling victim to a shark attack is by being aware of one’s surroundings.

Because most shark encounters occur as collateral damage from a feeding frenzy, both Quevedo and Walters suggest getting out of the water upon noticing a sudden increase in marine life or dark shadows moving on the floor.

“If you’re sitting at the beach, and you look out and you can see the ocean being disturbed — and I’m not talking about wind blowing and causing a little bit of chop, I’m not talking about ripples on the shore. It’s fish right at the surface,” said Walters.

Those fish are being hunted from below, he continued, whether it be from a whale, dolphin or shark. Oftentimes, waterfowl will get in on the action by diving below and trying to swipe a cornered fish.

Lifeguards across the South Shore have also recently utilized drone technology to track shark movements , which is an added bonus for swimmers looking for an extra layer of protection.

Most importantly, shark experts urge bathers to properly educate themselves on the beauty of the ocean and how sharks are a major contributor. That means avoiding the sensationalism that “Shark Week” brings.

“That’s why everybody’s freaked,” Walters said, “That’s the first problem.”

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